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Place dossier plate
SheetMI-PORTAGE-MI · Portage, MI 49,015 pop · income 61st pct
Instrument codes from this place’s ACS population and household income, BEA state COL, FBI safety, national income percentile, photo-finish peer city, home-value band, and matched Census-tract book - not a moving recommendation.
Income neighbourhood around Portage
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Portage on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Saginaw · lowest
37,298
Saginaw · lowest
37,298 median HH income
24.0% of the leader · rank #1
Terrace Heigh… · near
79,525
Terrace Heigh… · near
79,525 median HH income
51.2% of the leader · rank #2
Portage · this city
79,529
Portage · this city
79,529 median HH income
51.2% of the leader · rank #3
Northglenn · near
79,530
Northglenn · near
79,530 median HH income
51.2% of the leader · rank #4
Northlake · near
79,531
Northlake · near
79,531 median HH income
51.2% of the leader · rank #5
White Knoll · near
79,531
White Knoll · near
79,531 median HH income
51.2% of the leader · rank #6
Dublin · highest
155,282
Dublin · highest
155,282 median HH income
100.0% of the leader · rank #7
What this shows Neighbourhood peers only - not a full nationwide city board. Open a near peer when the gap is small; open the poles when the spread is wide.
Compare beyond this state
Nationwide peers by population, income, and FBI crime rate
Out-of-state nearest neighbors for Portage on ACS population and median household income
, plus FBI UCR reporting rate when the extract covers this place. Link sets are deduped so each column is a distinct comparison path, not a forecast that peers share a labor market or climate.
Similar population
Nearest out-of-state cities by ACS population. This city: 49,015.
Agency-reported UCR totals per 100,000 population, not a neighborhood safety grade or a prediction of personal risk.
Portage - the verdict
Out of every US city with 1,000+ residents, Portage places in the 61st percentile for household income and the 13th percentile for safety. Source: Census ACS + FBI UCR.
61st
percentile, household income
54th
percentile, home value
32nd
percentile, median rent
13th
percentile, safety
📝 How we sourced this
Population, income, and housing-cost figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates (B-series tables). Crime data uses FBI UCR; climate uses NOAA Climate Normals; school counts come from NCES Common Core of Data; permits use the Census Building Permits Survey (BPS). See our methodology page for the full ETL pipeline and OMB / FIPS join keys.
Data Snapshot: Portage, MI
Portage is a small city in Michigan, home to 49,015 residents per U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 estimates. Households in Portage report a median income of $79,529 per year, above the median for U.S. cities on this measure, with a poverty rate of 5.2%. Home values in Portage run a median of $243,400, and the median resident age is 37.2 years. Educational attainment runs 48.4% of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher. Separately, 65.6% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
The Census Building Permit Survey recorded 80 residential units authorized here in 2024 (Construction Slowdown), down 59% from five years earlier. Portage's reported crime rate runs above the national norm: per-100,000 total crime stands at 3252.0 in FBI UCR data, above the national average (a voluntary reporting program, read this as reporting activity, not a definitive danger score).
Living costs in Michigan run below the national norm: on BEA's 100-equals-national-average cost index, Michigan scores 96.2 (Below Average), per the 2024 Regional Price Parities release. HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in this state is $1,113 per month. EIA 2023 residential energy data puts Michigan's average monthly utility costs around $238 (state average). Commute times here average 17.2 minutes, with 80.2% driving alone and 11.6% working from home, per Census ACS commuting data. On FEMA's National Risk Index, this area rates 49.6 out of 100 for natural-hazard exposure (Low).
A decision-led reading path
Useful questions to ask of Portage's data
How this reading path is ordered
This is not a composite city score. It is a city-specific route through the available public records, ordered for this profile so the page starts with questions the joined data can actually answer. The route here runs from comparison shortlist to reported crime to work and mobility to population change to housing and income to schools and households; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Portage, city-specific coverage includes FBI reported-crime rates, local building permits, matched public-school count, commute-mode shares, annual population history.
No matched row is reported here for within-city Census tract profiles; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.
1. Comparison shortlist
Which cities make useful reference points for Portage?
Use the in-state set to hold state policy and broad price conditions more nearly constant. Use the nationwide size set to ask whether cities with a similar resident count produce different housing, income, or commute outcomes. The income set is a third lens, deliberately separate from population matching. The nationwide peer panel below adds a fourth FBI UCR reporting-rate lens, not personal risk.
Within Michigan, the closest population matches are Roseville (47,240 residents, $61,222 income); Battle Creek (52,392 residents, $51,699 income); East Lansing (45,394 residents, $43,547 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Biloxi, MS (49,011 residents); Titusville, FL (49,004 residents); Dublin, OH (49,031 residents). A third, income-matched reference set of 6 out-of-state cities sits in the income neighbourhood chart near the Place Dossier plate. These are mechanical peer sets, not claims that the places share a labor market, climate, culture, or metro context.
What can the FBI record say about safety in Portage?
The joined FBI UCR record reports 3252.0 violent and property crimes per 100,000 residents, above the 2280.5 national reference used here. The difference is 43% higher in arithmetic terms, but agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies.
Treat this as a reporting-rate comparison, not a prediction of personal risk or a neighborhood-level safety grade. Tourism, daytime population, reporting practices, and variation inside the city are not adjusted away. The state rank and same-state peer table are the narrower comparisons available on this page.
What does the journey to work look like in Portage?
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 80.2%. The reported mean trip to work is 17.2 minutes.
Mode share answers how workers usually travel; it does not measure congestion, reliability, distance to a particular job, or the quality of transit service. No single mode completely explains the work trip here. The mix is more useful than a one-number commute grade, especially when comparing places where transit, walking, and remote work divide the non-driving share differently.
Census PEP estimates show the population grew by +922 residents from 2020 to 2025, a +1.9% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 80 housing units authorized in 2024. PEP and ACS are different Census series, so the trend is kept separate from the headline ACS population.
Recent estimates point upward. Growth can increase housing demand and service needs, but the permit record must move in the same direction before calling it a supply response; the two series measure different things.
These joined records add useful context, but they do not need another full-size panel. Each remains a separate measure with its own geography and source boundary.
Housing and income
How far does income reach against housing in Portage?
This is a citywide price-to-income reference, not a mortgage-affordability test; it does not include interest rates, taxes, insurance, household size, or an individual buyer's down payment. Income and home value move within the same broad scale here. The useful next check is not a generic affordability label, but whether similar-size cities offer a materially different income, housing, or commute trade-off.
The home-value-to-income reference sits in a middle range: the ACS median home value is 3.1 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 5.2%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
Value / income
3.1×
Home value
$243,400
Household income
$79,529
City-level Census ACS 2023 medians. The ratio divides two separate medians and is descriptive only.
The matched institution count is small, so district boundaries and schools outside the city line may matter more than the municipal count suggests. Use the number as a coverage cue, then verify attendance zones with the district before making a household decision.
The NCES join finds 1 public school within the city match. 48.4% of adults age 25+ hold a bachelor's degree or higher in the ACS estimate. These measures answer different questions: the school count describes local institutions, while adult attainment describes residents and cannot be used as a school-quality rating.
Poverty estimate
5.2%
Bachelor's degree+
48.4%
Matched public schools
1
NCES Common Core of Data school locations plus Census ACS resident characteristics.
Above median income · poverty 5.2% (Below-median poverty)
Cost of Living Index (state)
96.2 (US=100)
Near national cost · BEA RPP 2024, Michigan average
C
City profile score · Portage, MI
58/100
5 published dimensions · ACS/FBI 2023
Comparative score against U.S. cities with population of 1,000 or more on Census ACS medians
(income, poverty, bachelor's share, cost of living) and FBI UCR violent-crime rates when
published. Higher means a stronger standing on those published figures, not a livability
rating, not a recommendation to move, buy, or pick a "best" city. Missing inputs drop out
and redistribute weight.
How it is calculated.
Bachelor's+ share A-
48.4%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Poverty rate C+
5.2%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Household income C
$79,529
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Cost of living C
96.2 index
BEA state Regional Price Parities index (100 ≈ national average); lower is stronger on this axis. Same value for every city in the state.
Violent crime F
277 /100k
FBI UCR violent offenses per 100,000 residents; lower is stronger on this axis.
Portage profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Bachelor's+ share: 82/100 (A-) · 48.4%
Poverty rate: 64/100 (C+) · 5.2%
Household income: 59/100 (C) · $79,529
Cost of living: 57/100 (C) · 96.2 index
Violent crime: 36/100 (F) · 277 /100k
Where Portage sits on home value vs crime among peer cities
Portage's median home value and FBI crime rate plotted with similar-size and
same-state peers (padded with large cities when the peer set is thin). The second
read: pricey does not always mean safer, check which quadrant this city lands in.
Census ACS median home value vs FBI UCR crime rate - Portage highlighted among 11 peers.Read the chart values
Portage, MI (this city): home $243,400, crime 3,252/100k
Titusville, FL : home $243,100, crime 1,799/100k
Dublin, OH : home $514,900, crime 1,025/100k
Euclid, OH : home $114,700, crime 1,453/100k
Ceres, CA : home $397,200, crime 2,245/100k
Roseville, MI : home $142,700, crime 3,833/100k
Battle Creek, MI : home $127,600, crime 3,644/100k
East Lansing, MI : home $251,600, crime 1,440/100k
Kentwood, MI : home $249,000, crime 2,570/100k
Saginaw, MI : home $54,000, crime 4,160/100k
Midland, MI : home $192,400, crime 777/100k
How does Portage compare to other US cities?
Portage measured against every US city with 1,000+ residents, computed live from the same Census and FBI data shown throughout this page.
Household income61% higher than other cities
Home value54% pricier than other cities
Median rent32% pricier than other cities
Safety13% safer than other cities
"Safer than" reflects total crime rate from FBI UCR; the others use Census ACS estimates.
A national percentile can hide a lot of local variation: narrowed to Michigan alone, Portage ranks #230 of 254 Michigan cities by lowest crime rate - a different, more locally useful comparison than stacking it against the entire country.
How we calculate these percentiles & ranks
Each percentile compares Portage against every qualifying US city; each in-state rank narrows that to Michigan only. Full formula and direction notes: methodology.
Michigan-relative analysis
Median Gross Rent places Portage near the bottom of Michigan's cities
Among the 727 Michigan cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Portage ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Portage only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#139 of 718
81st percentile in Michigan
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 727
0th percentile in Michigan
Median Home Value
#138 of 721
81st percentile in Michigan
Poverty Rate
#465 of 727
35th percentile in Michigan
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#72 of 727
90th percentile in Michigan
How in-state ranks are ordered
Ranked by raw value (highest first); a higher rank is not automatically "better" for every measure, see each metric's own context above. This is a comparison within Michigan only, not a livability score. See the methodology for the source and calculation.
Gauge source note
61st percentile nationally for median household income · 13th percentile for safety (lower crime rate). Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
Portage's profile vs. every US city
Income, affordability, and safety percentile
Portage's percentile rank on 3 favorable-direction measures (income, affordability, safety) vs. every tracked US city -- higher on every axis is more favorable. Not a composite quality score, just the arithmetic mean of the axes shown.
How Portage's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$243,40046th percentilemore affordable than 46% of 15,600 US cities
Show national distribution
Each bar is a $25K-wide band; taller bars hold more US cities. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2023
Portage's home-value-to-income ratio: 3.1×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
moderate
3.0–5.0×
National rank
#7,003 of 15,516
More affordable than 55% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#991 of 3,317
Small cities (10,000–49,999)
At 3.1×, Portage sits in the moderate band:
national rank #7,003 of 15,516 and #991 of 3,317small cities (10,000–49,999).
Income and home value move in the same broad scale; check same-state peers before treating the multiple as an advantage or a warning.
How this ratio is calculated
Ratio = Census ACS 2023 median home value ÷ median household income for cities with both fields and population ≥ 1,000.
Rank 1 = lowest ratio (most compact). Bands match the fleet affordability thresholds used on guides (<3.0 / 3.0–5.0 / >5.0).
This is not a mortgage payment estimate and does not include rates, taxes, insurance, or down payment.
Income distribution context
$79,529Portage, MI median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Portage, MI median household income (Census ACS 5-year) with U.S. national quintile shares for context. Diagonal = equality; the curve is national, not computed for Portage, MI.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)48.4%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)5.2%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)65.6%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
49,015
Median Income
$79,529
Median Home Value
$243,400
Median Age
37.2
Poverty Rate
5.2%
Labor force participation
65.6%
Bachelor's Degree+
48.4%
Safety & Crime
Total Crime Rate
3252.0
per 100,000 residents
Violent Crime
277.2
per 100,000 residents
Property Crime
2974.7
per 100,000 residents
Crime reporting caveat
Reflects incidents reported to the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting program — agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies by jurisdiction and year, so this reflects reporting activity, not a definitive danger score. Not adjusted for tourism, commuter, or daytime population.
Schools
Total Schools
1
Public schools in this city
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Portage's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
48,940 residents
2021
48,920 residents
2022
48,928 residents
2023
49,305 residents
2024
49,658 residents
2025
49,862 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
📉 Construction Slowdown
Total Permits (2024)
80
housing units authorized
Single-Family
80
detached homes
Multifamily
0
apartments & condos
Supply Intensity
1.6
permits per 1,000 residents
5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2019
193
75
118
$28.2M
2020
135
100
35
$28.1M
2021
127
116
11
$27.3M
2022
188
89
99
$32.1M
2023
250
68
182
$33.8M
2024
80
80
0
$16.6M
Permit volume decreased 59% from 2019 to 2024.
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Average Commute Time
17.2 minutes
Drive Alone
80.2%
Carpool
5.4%
Public Transit
0.7%
Walk
1.1%
Work from Home
11.6%
Other
1.0%
Based on 25,612 workers 16 and over.
Monthly Utility Costs
Michigan statewide monthly utility average (EIA 2023): $238
EIA 2023 residential energy data puts average monthly utilities across Michigan at $238 (electricity about $105 , water and sewer about $48 ).
These are Michigan statewide averages, not a meter reading for Portage. Actual bills vary by home size, usage, and local rates. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023.
Living Costs & Risk
Michigan's BEA cost-of-living index is 96.2 (Below Average; US average = 100, RPP 2024). HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in the county around Portage is $1,113/mo. FEMA's National Risk Index, averaged to Michigan statewide on PlainCities, rates natural-hazard exposure at 49.6 / 100 (Low).
Cost/risk geography note
Cost of living is a Michigan statewide BEA average; rent is a county-level HUD Fair Market Rent for the county Portage sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Portage compares to similar-size Michigan cities
Same-state peer method
Closest same-state population matches, not geographic neighbors. Population + median household income come from Census Bureau ACS 5-year B01001 and B19013.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year 2023, FBI UCR, NCES CCD, Census BPS 2024, Census ACS B08301/B08136, U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023, BEA Regional Price Parities 2024, HUD Fair Market Rents 2026, FEMA National Risk Index.